This paper will explore how procurement officials can understand the issues involved with vendor communication and address them in a way that allows them to use one-on-one exchanges in a manner consistent with the obvious necessity for transparency and integrity.

The purpose of this research is to help procurement officials and state policy makers develop state-vendor communication guidelines or policies in their respective states. While this paper will not recommend a particular approach to one-on-one state-vendor communications, general observations and a framework for analysis are included.

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